Storytime with Master Luke
by Arallute
Summary: While training on Ahch-To, Luke tells Rey a long story: her family history. The story begins just after TFA but is largely told in flashbacks, explaining how Han and Leia's daughter ended up on Jakku.
1. Ahch-To

33 ABY

Every day was the same, and Rey found comfort in the predictable pattern of the schedule. She and Master Luke woke, dressed, and meditated for a peaceful hour at the ocean's edge. Then they shared a morning meal and discussed what the day's practice would entail. Each Jedi training session began with the same physical workout, the climbing of the steps.

Rey hated those steps. Especially in the rain. She figured Master Luke liked that particular exercise because it thoroughly taught her the trick of levitation. She'd slipped on the steps enough times to realize that she'd either learn to levitate herself, or die trying. That was the only explanation for the dangerous construction of the thing—either the ancient masters were trying to teach self-control, or the Order had some ridiculous restriction on banisters and guard rails.

Master Luke had smiled when she'd suggested that. "A banister ban," he'd commented.

After the steps, there was a variety of physical and metal challenges, most of which Rey enjoyed. Climbing, running, scaling walls, combat training…it was all so much easier and more fun on a planet more temperate than Jakku. Here on Ahch-To, her skin was cool, never hot. And the grass was sweet, soft and moist, not at all like sand. Master Luke had had to teach her words like _dew_ and _humidity_. (He never made fun of her. He'd grown up on a desert planet himself, and Han Solo had taught him the meaning of dew when he was Rey's age. That comforted her.)

She was wary of only one aspect of the Force: manipulating other minds. Since her experiences with Kylo Ren, she recoiled from the very idea of invading another's thoughts. It seemed…un-Jedi-like. Impolite at best, torturous at worst. "You're right," Luke agreed readily. "It violates an individual's free will. But sometimes mind tricks are the least violent way of settling a dispute or escaping danger. Only use these methods when it will serve the greater good, never just for your personal interests."

"I did use a mind trick once," Rey confessed. "On a stormtrooper, when I was held prisoner on Starkiller Base. I told him to remove my restraints and leave me his weapon. Only took me three tries."

Luke smiled gently. "Well, what was the result? Did you hurt him?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. He just walked away. And it allowed me to escape. But that's not really serving the 'greater good,' was it? I mean, it only helped me."

"If you'd remained a prisoner, what would have happened to you?"

Rey shuddered lightly. "I suppose Kylo Ren would have come back to interrogate me some more. He might have learned something about Finn, or Han, or the Resistance…." She trailed off, since he no longer seemed to be listening.

Luke looked away for a long moment, watching the calm waves lap the island. She immediately regretted mentioning Ren; it always upset Master Luke. But not for long. Rebounding, Luke concluded, "Well, then, your escape served the greater good. It prevented the First Order from learning anything, and it facilitated Han's rescue of you."

Rey noticed the smile playing on Luke's lips. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about Han rescuing women. He's somewhat of an expert at it. Sometimes. Although…sometimes she ends up rescuing him instead."

Rey chose not to correct her Master's use of the present tense rather than the past when referring to Han. He made the mistake often, as if he couldn't quite believe in his friend's death. Instead, she suggested, "Could you tell me that story tonight?"

All her life, Rey had been starved for stories, for knowledge. She had mostly contented herself with the gossip she heard at Niima Outpost. More than that, she loved reading the logs and datapads occasionally left behind on ships she scavenged. They hinted at adventures and excitement that she doubted would ever come her way. But Luke's stories! They were her absolute favorite part of life on Ahch-To. Every evening, after dinner, they lit a fire and had story time. She soaked up every detail of his life and the exploits of his friends. It was as if Luke saw that hole in her, that longing for a family, and was trying to give her a surrogate.

That was just fine with her. She had felt immediately at ease with Master Luke, as well as with Han Solo, Chewbacca, even General Organa. If they had been her real family, she would have…well. They weren't. But Maz Kanata had told Rey that the belonging she longed for was ahead of her, and she fervently hoped _this_ was the circle of friends that Maz had meant.

Luke answered her question. "I've already told you how Han and I met Leia. On the Death Star, remember?"

"Of course, of course," she answered quickly. "It's one of my favorite stories, actually." She liked the parts where Han and Leia argued over everything. Rey found it a little hard to imagine the even-tempered, placid Resistance general being that feisty, but Luke assured her that his sister had once been an absolute spitfire, especially when it came to Han Solo. "I'd just like to hear more Han-rescuing-people stories."

Luke again stared off into the distance, at the ever-present ocean. Thinking of Han? "Rey," he began solemnly, "You've trained here for four months now, and you've made excellent progress. The Jedi practice is just that—we practice, we never perfect—but I think you've got the fundamentals down. You're strong enough to leave here and rejoin society, either with the Resistance or someplace else. But I have one last story to tell you, a hard story to hear, and then you have a choice to make."

"I want to go back to the Resistance."

Luke fixed her with a stare and raised his eyebrows.

"I want to listen to your story and then make a decision," Rey amended.

Luke smiled affectionately at her. "It's a very long story. We're not going to train anymore today. Let's make tea, build our fire early, and then I'll start."


	2. The Solo Boys

You've asked me many times to explain when and why Han and Leia broke apart from each other, what happened to their relationship. This is _that_ story. But to understand the ending, we need to start closer to the beginning.

In the year after the Galactic Civil War ended, there was a baby boom. So-called 'victory children,' conceived in the months after the Empire's end. It's hard to describe the mood then; everyone was so happy, so optimistic about the future. So…lots of babies. Han and Leia were busy setting up the new-founded Republic. He handled the military side of things while she was dealing with the politics, but they were both completely immersed. And they barely saw each other.

Late in that year, they finally decided to let go of some of those constant demands of the government and devote some time to each other. I guess Han convinced Leia that _her_ needs could sometimes come before the needs of every other being in the galaxy, that she could carve out some time to be selfish and enjoy her life.

That's not a concept that came naturally to Leia, so it took a serious amount of convincing on Han's part. But eventually, he won out, and they joined that baby boom. They had a son, whom they named Ben. For Ben Kenobi, you understand. He was the reason they met in the first place.

Ben was a radiant child, so bright and energetic. Big brown eyes, a headful of dark curls, always on the move. He was such a sensitive little boy. He laughed easily, and cried easily, too. He loved getting to know people…really, all sorts of beings. He tagged along behind Leia to all her diplomatic functions, and she taught him a lot about politics: how to read people, how to sense their true motivations and to watch their body language, when to be direct and when to flatter.

Ben also had lots of pets—his first pittin was named Mr. Fluffypants, and Ben took that guy everywhere. He liked to try and read his pittins' little minds, understand their thoughts and feelings. When Mr. Fluffypants died, Ben was about six; he cried for days. We held a traditional Jedi funeral for the pittin. There was a wake. With finger foods and juice. It was kind of nuts. But I'm trying to explain how gentle little Ben was, how much he treasured all life.

Han and Leia wanted so much to balance their work for the Republic with parenthood, and they always felt like they should have been doing one when they were doing the other. They never thought they were doing a good enough job in either role, though in reality, they did fine. Ben was content with his pittins, his parents, his schooling, and his Uncle Luke teaching him the "Force stuff," but every year he requested a little sister. He wanted a sister, so he could 'learn her all sorts of things.'

It was four years before Ben got a sibling—a brother. They'd planned on giving him the name Bail, for Leia's adopted father, but this little one had blue eyes and light brown hair—not at all Bail's coloring—and after seeing her baby, Leia changed her mind and called him Anakin. Our father's name, for the boy with his grandfather's eyes. But as it turned out, Ani—we almost always called him that, unless he was in trouble—was definitely more Han Solo's son than a Skywalker. A little scoundrel, that one. Braver than his big brother, more reckless, always climbing on the furniture, breaking electronics, and generally raising hell. He wasn't Force-sensitive, which I guess made things easier for his parents…and probably for the whole galaxy. Pinning him down was hard enough without Jedi abilities thrown in.

Being four years apart, Ben and Ani didn't fight as much as siblings who are closer in age. As a baby, Anakin got treated like just another of Ben's pets. But as soon as he could walk, Ani was trotting along after his big brother, who took it upon himself to teach the toddler life skills, like how to steal cookies at diplomatic functions and how to spar with a practice lightsaber. Maybe being smaller than Ben, always looking up to him, explains why Anakin tried so hard to be tough, to act older than he was. Or maybe he was just…well, a lot like Han. He liked to fly, too—that was one good way of focusing Ani's energy. While Ben had daily training with me, Anakin followed his father around the _Falcon,_ learning how to fix her and fly her.

* * *

"More tea, Rey?"

She blinked. "Yes, please. Master, why haven't you ever told me they had another child? Where is he? Is he still alive?"

Luke stood up and stretched his back before bending over the teapot to refill her cup. "It's hard for me to talk about that part of their lives. It was the happiest Han and Leia had ever been. The happiest they ever would be."

"Their son Ben," she mused. "He's the one who became Kylo Ren, right? But…why him? He was the sweet one. What made him change so much?"

Luke poured himself another cup of tea. "Anakin was sweet, too," he said defensively. "Very brave and loyal, always putting others before himself. Han claimed he was part Wookiee." Rey could feel waves of sadness, like an airless, starless night, radiating from her Master as he spoke. But he continued.

* * *

 _ **I'd like to credit the fanfic "My Father's Eyes" by Jedi-Princess-Solo for inspiring me with regards to Anakin's eyes and namesake.**_


	3. Hosnian Prime

Mon Mothma had proposed in the first year of the Republic that the capital should rotate, to promote a sense of equality among its member worlds. So when Ben was nine and Anakin was almost five, the Senate moved to Hosnian Prime. Since Han and Leia both still worked for the government—Leia as a minister, Han in a less official capacity—the Solos moved as well.

Ben didn't like the change. In Kuat City, they'd had a townhouse with a beautiful garden for the three pittins and his newest pet, a Corellian Spukamas named Greedo who kept that house absolutely rodent-free. Now Ben and the furballs had to make do with a high-rise apartment. It had an open-air balcony, but it wasn't the same as the green grass of Kuat. So Benny wasn't particularly happy about moving. Anakin missed the garden, too, but he did like the idea of finally having his own sleeping quarters—the new apartment had five bedrooms, a playroom, and an enormous greatroom which Threepio tried very hard to keep clean for guests.

Anakin had a bigger problem: school. He didn't like his teacher, he didn't like sitting still, and he got into fights with three boys who made fun of the way he talked. Nothing was really wrong with Ani's speech—he just had a habit of leaving off a consonant at the beginning of words, like some little kids do. You know, he'd say 'tar' instead of 'star,' that sort of thing. And he didn't have a Hosnian accent like the other kids, either. So he got picked on. Ani never learned to just let an insult pass; he was spunky and stubborn and absolutely had to get the last word in.

I remember Han complaining to me once about Anakin's behavior—something like, "Why can't he just get along with people, or at least ignore the other kids? Why does he have to argue about every little thing?" I laughed so hard that I cried.

After a couple of months, the teasing had progressed to pushing Ani on the way home from school. Usually, Ben would walk his little brother home, constantly reminding him to behave himself. Ani was usually the more aggressive one. But one day in particular, something changed. One of the bullies tripped Anakin unexpectedly, and he fell hard on the permacrete. Instead of jumping up and pushing the boy back, which he normally would have done, Anakin tried the approach his mother had suggested. He lifted his chin and walked away without a word. Ben, on the other hand, decided he had had enough of bratty little five year-olds, and Force-shoved the three of them down the street and into a tree. They never bothered Ani again, and the brothers had a new secret to share with each other.

How I found out? Ben told me. Years later.

Besides the move to Hosnian Prime, there was another important event that occurred that year. The boys got a baby sister. Breha was named after Leia's mother—that is, her adopted mother, Queen Breha of Alderaan. The Queen was wise, sweet and gentle, with a strong sense of justice. She was extremely popular with her people. She died with her planet, so I never met her, but I think I would've liked her.

Her namesake, however, was very different than her grandmother. I mean, Breha was a darling, we all adored her, but she was always a challenge. Maybe we spoiled her a little because she was the baby of the family, and the only girl…no, that's not it. She was just born that way. Always the Princess, head held high, absolutely confident in herself. When she was almost one, she decided, very suddenly and without any fuss, to learn to walk. She just stood up and walked across the room, right into Leia's waiting arms. I loved that about her—about all three children, really, but particularly Breha—such self-confidence. Unfortunately for their parents, that confidence often translated into stubborn disobedience. Breha got sent to her room a lot. But with Han and Leia as parents, well, they should've expected willful children.

Ben and Anakin were both charmed by their little sister. They each had some things in common with her. She was Force-sensitive, and loved to watch Ben practice with me. Breha couldn't keep still during our meditation, of course, but she'd sit enraptured while we sparred with sabers. She wanted to learn all about the Force. I told her she had to wait until she was older to start training, but I think Ben taught her how to hold a practice saber and do some basic parries. She also liked Greedo and the pittins a lot, and she was gentle enough with them that Ben let her feed his babies. He even let the pittins get dressed up and attend her tea parties.

But Breha's favorite hobby was the one she shared with Anakin and their father: flying. From the time she could talk, she begged Han to let her fly the _Falcon._ By the age of three, he'd surrendered to her demands. She'd sit on Han's lap and pull the levers. By the time she was four, she'd steer, too. Ani sat on Chewie's lap and played the copilot, or the two kids would switch roles. Han called Ani his first mate, and Breha his second mate…though of course, Breha really wanted to be the captain.

* * *

"Rey? Are you still listening?" Luke thought she seemed distracted.

She nodded energetically. "Absolutely, Master. I was just thinking…Han used that phrase with me."

"Which phrase?"

Rey looked down at the ground and plucked a blade of grass to twist between her fingers. "When we landed on Takodana, we talked a little. He offered me a job as his 'second mate.' I think that's the exact word he used. I just think it's sad that I reminded him of his little girl."

Luke didn't know what to say to that. "Yes," he murmured finally.

"So…they died? Anakin and Breha?"

 _Deep steady breaths,_ Luke reminded himself. "I'm getting to that."


	4. THAT Day

It happened fifteen years ago. Leia had taken Ben to the Senate District. I told you he enjoyed diplomacy, and she often brought him along when she met with politicians. On that day, there was a luncheon for the members of the Ministry of Defense, and Leia wanted to discuss disarmament with them. She was against it. Leia believed—rightly—that the First Order was better organized and more of a threat than the Republic thought. She kept warning them that they needed to maintain a competent military; they called her an alarmist, even a warmonger.

Anyway, that day…Ben was with Leia. He was fourteen, Ani was ten and his sister was almost five. It was just before her birthday.

Snoke and the First Order had turned to a new tactic, which was to kidnap the spouses or children of Republic officials. The ransom was always the same: leave the government, step away from politics, stop making speeches, that sort of thing. And it was effective. A handful of ministers and senators had already left Republic City because of those kidnappings.

By that time, Han was spending some of his free time racing ships, either his own _Millennium Falcon_ or else smaller ships he was hired to fly. There was a big race that week on Malastare, which was in the Mid Rim but not too far from Hosnian Prime. Han was entered, but he'd had a pretty serious fight with Leia about it. Not that she minded his hobby, but she was worried about the kidnapping threats and wanted somebody at home with the children around the clock. He thought she was being over-protective. Besides, Leia was just another senator, one of hundreds, so Han figured she wasn't particularly important to the First Order.

The two of them compromised by having Chewie stay with the children when they weren't home. They also had an armed childcare droid, which Anakin and Breha enjoyed taking apart when their parents weren't watching. That droid was most definitely out of order.

So Leia was in the Senate District with Ben, while Chewie was at the Solos' apartment with Anakin and Breha. Han was on his way to Malastare. Chewie and the children were playing their favorite game: pirates. The roles in the game switched a lot, but on that day, Anakin was the pirate king and captain of the ship, Chewbacca his trusted second-in-command, and Breha was the head of a rival pirate gang, intent on stealing the ship and all its treasure.

The children had just turned their playroom into a pirate freighter when the nine assassins broke in. Their first target was Chewbacca. Wookiees can withstand a lot, but not nine blasters set to stun. Chewie barely had time to roar a warning to the children before he was knocked out. The nine broke into three groups, each to capture one of the three children. Of course, Ben wasn't there, so that search was futile. Anakin, being his usual spunky self, ran to his parents' bedroom and grabbed Leia's spare blaster from its hiding place. The assassins cornered him in that room. He actually took one of them down before they killed him. That's how he died, fighting, blaster in hand. A brave little pirate king.

Breha had taken off running after her big brother, and saw him die. I'm sure she felt it, too, through the Force. She screamed and they shot her. Stunned, not killed. Apparently they wanted one of the children alive. Chewbacca woke up in a daze, hearing Breha's shrieks but needing a minute before he understood what was going on. By the time he could move, they were gone. With Breha.

Leia and Ben knew something horrible had just happened, of course. They felt Ani's death, they felt Breha's panic. So they followed her presence to the spaceport in an attempt to intercept the kidnappers. They arrived just as Breha was being loaded onto a shuttle. Leia threw herself onto the underside of the ship as it was taking off. One of the kidnappers had stayed behind, and he fired at her. Leia was shot through the side. The blast took out her entire spleen and part of her stomach and liver. She fell off the ship and onto the landing platform; the fall broke her legs and a few other bones.

Ben decapitated the man who'd shot his mother. It was the first time he'd used his lightsaber, the first time he'd killed. He liked the sensation. He was right to defend Leia—but he had _enjoyed_ killing. That was a turning point for Ben. But I'll get back to that later.

When Han came out of hyperspace at Malastare, there were frantic messages waiting for him from Chewie and from me. Naturally, he came straight back, probably breaking the record for the fastest hyperspace jump in history, and went to his home. Chewie was still there, keeping vigil with Anakin, and some detectives, who told Han what had happened. Something broke in Han when he saw his little boy. When your home becomes a crime scene, and your bedroom becomes a morgue…well. I wish I had been with him. I so wish I'd been there, but I was at the medcenter, guarding Ben, checking on Leia.

Han went to Leia's bedside and sat there until she regained consciousness, about a week later. Leia woke up furious. Furious at herself, at Chewie, at the First Order, and finally at Han. She thought her husband should have been out searching for Breha, not just waiting around for detectives to find a lead. She vacillated between chasing Han away and begging him to stay at her side. She could feel Breha through the Force—her terror, her hunger, grief and confusion—and Leia's impotence ripped her apart.

If I ever worried about her falling to the dark side, it was then.

She spent a few weeks in the medcenter; they transplanted part of my liver into her, and she had to have bones set, skin grafts. She was a wreck.

And it got worse from there. The day Leia was released from the medcenter, I went to their home for dinner. I didn't know where to sit. They had a dining table with eight seats, you know, with five close together for the five of them and three extra seats for guests. And I used to sit in the sixth seat, but with Anakin's and Breha's empty chairs in between, I felt foolish sitting so far away. So I moved into the chair next to Leia, which was Anakin's chair…and everyone stared at the empty space…and no one knew what to say. The whole meal went like that. Every little thing was so painful.

The First Order started tormenting us with messages. First the demands—they wanted Han and Leia to resign their posts and leave public life. Han resigned his commission the next day, Leia did not, which led to a long and bitter argument about how best to combat evil. And then the other messages started arriving. 'We just feed her once a day,' said one. 'She bruises really easily.' 'She cried for hours because she said it was her birthday.' How are parents supposed to handle things like that? They were just…shredded. And they turned on each other. They had always bickered—I've told you plenty of stories about their verbal fireworks, right?—but now they began to _fight_ , to really hurt each other with words.

Ben had to listen to his parents arguing, which is terrible for a child, so he spent more and more time with me. Jedi training was a good distraction for him. It gave him a temporary reprieve from the pain of his lost siblings and the empty apartment. We were all haunted by the fear that the kidnappers would come back for Ben. He never felt safe, and he had a lot of nightmares.

After a few months, Leia decided that it would be better for me to leave the planet with Ben, to go train him full-time somewhere hidden, somewhere safer than Republic City. It seemed like a good idea, but Han and Ben were both against it. Han didn't want to let Ben out of his sight; you can imagine, he was wracked with guilt about having left his little ones alone. He thought he could protect Ben better than I would be able to. I think Han was actually daring the First Order to come try something. He was itching for a fight.

Ben didn't want to go away with me, either. He'd sort of stepped into the role of mediator in his parents' arguments. He was trying to help, trying to make their lives normal again...he didn't want to abandon them. And you know, teenagers, they dislike any kind of change.

It was a long debate, but Leia won out, so Ben came with me to a planet called Yavin IV. An ancient temple had earlier been converted into a Rebel Alliance base and it now became my training camp. I moved all my students from Hosnian Prime to Yavin, and that's where Ben stayed for the next three years. He was never happy there, though. He felt…abandoned. Especially after his father left.

After Ben moved to Yavin, the apartment became unbearably quiet. To go from three boisterous children running around to silence…it was awful. I think Han and Leia argued just to avoid that silence. One day, they had a long, terrible fight, in which they apparently both hit each other's weakest spots as hard they could. She blamed him for abandoning them on That Day, he accused her of putting her government above their children.

I don't know all the details of that fight, but I do know the conclusion. Han came to see Ben and me. He explained that if he stayed with Leia any longer, they would both end up saying things that were absolutely unforgivable—if they hadn't already. They were ripping their marriage apart. He wanted to leave for a while and cool down. Also, Han was going crazy sitting around at home waiting for some sign from Breha. He wanted to hunt her down himself. The last message from the First Order had suggested they had sold her into slavery, so he wanted to start there. Go back to his smuggling contacts, slavers, anyone in the underbelly of society who might know of her.

Han said his farewells to Ben, and to me, and went off to find Breha. He came back to Leia, now and then, for a few days at a time, especially after Ben…fell. But they never lived together as a family again. He'd vowed he wouldn't really come home for good until he found their daughter, and that's exactly what happened.

* * *

"But he never found his daughter," Rey protested. "He died, still searching for her." Her heart ached for Han, for that lost little girl, for the whole family.

Luke looked straight at her. "No, Han _did_ find her. And he brought her home to her mother."

Rey tilted her head. "She's on D'Qar, then?"

"No," Luke said quietly. "Your mother sent you here, to train with me."


	5. Breha

It took Rey a few heartbeats to absorb Master Luke's words. No. She had misheard him.

"You mean, _her_ mother sent _her_ here." Breha. Han and Leia's missing daughter.

Luke continued to speak to her quietly, soothingly. "When you were born, Anakin was four. He couldn't pronounce your name, couldn't get the BR of Breha. So he never called you that. He called you Rey, or Reha, or even Rey-Rey. And the nickname stuck."

Rey stared at Luke, shaking her head. "That's not possible," she told him. "That's not me. I'm not that girl. It's _not possible._ "

She felt an overwhelming need to run away from him. She leapt to her feet and sprinted headlong towards the cliff, down the steps, to the ocean. She waded into the water, waist-deep, and let her tears mingle with the salty sea. Was this why her master had told her so many stories of his family? He really thought she was a _part_ of that family? A family she didn't remember? No, Rey concluded, Master Luke must be mistaken. She suddenly felt like a fool, standing there in the cold ocean, and retreated. Walked back up those hateful steps, back to Luke. He hadn't moved. She sat down next to the fire. He draped a heavy blanket around her shoulders.

"I think you're mistaken, Master. My parents _took_ me to Jakku. They left me there. They told me they'd be back…." Rey trailed off, lost.

Luke kept his gaze steady. "No, that's not how it happened," he said with certainty. "They would never have abandoned you, Rey. That's a false memory. Or maybe you're mixing up different memories."

Rey turned away from her master, and turned her mind inward. She remembered a tall man—her father—kneeling in front of her, dark blue pants with a yellow stripe, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. _I'll come back, sweetheart. I promise_. Wasn't that on Jakku? She closed her eyes tight, tried to relive the moment. _I'll come back, sweetheart_. It must've been Jakku sand underneath her feet—or carpeting? A beige carpet? She heard him promise he'd come back, and she'd said…what had she said to him? "Why can't I go with you? I can race too. I can be your copilot."

Rey's eyes snapped open. "I wanted to go racing with him." Tears again began streaming down her face. "I thought he said it when he left me at Niima Outpost. But it was…at...at home. At our home. I was angry because he was going racing without me, and I was stuck at home. It was the last thing conversation we had. I remember now." Why hadn't she remembered that before? Rey had spent her whole childhood waiting for him to come back. All for naught. She felt betrayed by her own mind.

"Why can't I remember it? Any of it? Any of them?" Rey's head was spinning. _I was kidnapped? I was Han and Leia's little girl? I was_ happy?

"So traumatic for a child. Maybe you blocked it all out. Though you've told me you remember a little bit," he prompted. "What do you remember?"

Rey sat back on her haunches and closed her eyes. On Jakku, she usually shut those memories down as quickly as they surfaced. Life there was unbearable enough without the torture of reminiscing about her family. Now she tried to focus her whole mind on details.

"Just images. My mother had brown hair. It was very long, and I liked to watch her braid it in the mornings. Her fingers moved so fast to braid her hair. She always smelled nice, some sort of perfume. My bed had a fluffy blanket, white, with a pattern of purple and green flowers. My favorite dress was light green and very soft. I didn't like stockings; they were always falling down. There was a big room in my house with lots of toys, where I played with…children. I remember my father's arms carrying me to bed when I fell asleep in the wrong room. I remember his trousers, dark blue with a yellow stripe on the side. I sat on his lap while he talked to his friends. I remember running through green grass and kicking a ball. Does any of that sound like Breha's life?"

Luke smiled and nodded. "Green and violet were your favorite colors. Everything in your room was either one or the other. And your descriptions of Han and Leia are spot on."

"But Master, even if I don't remember much of them, they should have remembered _me,_ shouldn't they? I was with Han for a whole day; why didn't he tell me? Did he not recognize me?" Rey wasn't sure which would be worse: not to be known by her father, or to be recognized but not acknowledged.

"Of course he recognized you. Maybe not at the first moment, but…well, you look like your mother. I'm sure he knew you."

"How long did it take before _you_ realized who I was?"

"I knew you the second you landed. I felt your presence. You glow so warmly in the Force, you always have. Of course, Han couldn't sense you that way. But he knew who you were, I'm sure of that."

"So why didn't he tell me?! He didn't say anything at all. Not at all."

"You were a little busy, Rey. Running from pirates, fixing the Falcon's malfunctions, then talking to Maz—he couldn't just spring it all on you. He was probably waiting for a quiet hour to sit you down and explain everything." Luke paused, thinking. "Besides, he did tell you a few things, didn't he? He called you his second mate, he offered to let you stay with him permanently. And he went to Starkiller Base to find you. To rescue you. What did he do when you first told him your name?"

She considered the question. "He looked away from me and repeated it twice. 'Rey.' Then, straight away, he gave me the job offer."

Luke looked deep into her eyes and spoke slowly, to make sure she heard him clearly. "He knew you."

"General Or—my mother—took care of me when I got to D'Qar. She hugged me when she saw me, without even speaking a word. I thought it was because I'd seen Han die, and she could sense how upset I was about it. But…you're saying she hugged me because she knew I was her daughter? Did she know?"

"She must have. Everyone has a unique signature in the Force; she can probably sense you even better than I can. Of course, Han had probably already told her about you." Luke smiled sadly. "He must have been overjoyed to finally find you alive and safe. He would've been bursting to tell Leia."

Rey went on, reflecting. "She gave me a nice hug. Then she showed me to quarters and ran me a bath, my first bath ever." Rey looked sheepishly at Luke. "Did you ever have a bath on Tatooine?"

Luke shook his head. "I never even saw a water shower until I was with the Rebels. Leia had to explain it to me, too."

"Well, she has a real bathtub in her quarters. It's absolutely decadent. And she made me something called 'hot chocolate.' The most delicious drink I've ever tasted in my life. It was exquisite."

Luke laughed briefly. "Oh, you adored hot chocolate when you were little. There was a time when you and Ani refused to drink anything else." Luke paused. "Do you remember your brothers?"

And like an electric current had struck her, the thought came crashing in: _Kylo Ren. Ben Solo. He's my brother. That monster with the mask is my big brother._ And again, it came: the urge to flee. This time, though, she managed to stay put. "He's my brother," she breathed in desperation. "You've been training me to kill my brother."

"No!" Luke said sharply. "Not to kill him. To protect yourself from him; he'll come after you again. You need to be ready to defend yourself. And, I hope, your training will help save him from himself. Maybe together we can turn him back to the good side of the Force."

 _Good luck with that._ "Master Luke? Do you think Kylo Ren knew who I was?"

"His name is Ben. Call him that. Snoke gave him the moniker Kylo Ren, just to taunt us. Just to show us that he had stolen the only heir of our families, the best of the S _ky_ walker and the So _lo,_ and had twisted him, made Ben into his puppet." Luke looked angry, as angry as a placid Jedi master could look. "Don't ever call him that."

"Okay," Rey murmured.

"And yes, Ben probably knew who you were. He said he wanted to be your teacher; he didn't try to kill you." Luke swallowed. "He'll try to turn you. That's why your mother sent you here, in isolation. To keep you safe, at least until you'd learned the fundamentals of Jedi training."

"You said I'd learned enough, that I could decide to rejoin the Resistance if I wanted. I want to go back."

"If that's your decision, I'll go to D'Qar with you. Since the First Order destroyed Hosnian Prime, I suppose the Republic is officially at war with them by now. I'll join the fight."

"That's what Leia wants you to do. She needs your help. She's so lonely." A wave of grief for her mother washed over her. "She's all alone; everyone she loved has been killed or has abandoned her. I can't stay away anymore. I want to go home," she concluded with certainty. "Can you contact Chewbacca? Have him come pick us up? It's time to go home."


	6. Maz and the Blaster

Chewbacca had returned to D'Qar after spending a few hours catching up with Luke. The Wookiee's life debt to Han was—heartbreakingly—fulfilled, and although Chewie felt a need to protect Han's little cub Rey, he knew Luke could take care of her well enough. She would be better served if she could work with Luke one on one. So Chewbacca had gone back to Leia, to serve the Resistance. Truly, he didn't know what else to do with himself.

When the comlink that he'd given Rey chirped, Chewie answered it excitedly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rey had spent a near-sleepless night in the temple on Ahch-To. Rather than repressing her memories, as she'd done throughout her childhood, she now tried desperately to remember anything and everything she could. She didn't have much luck; just a few new shards of memory nibbled at the edges of her mind. She replayed the vision she'd had when she touched Luke's lightsaber for the first time, and recalled a boy at the end of a hallway, staring at her. A boy with friendly blue eyes. Anakin? But which Anakin: her brother or grandfather? She hoped it was her brother; she fervently wished to remember him.

The hours she had spent in her parents' company came to the forefront of her memory, and one nagging thought preoccupied her all night.

"On the way back to D'Qar, Master," she asked over breakfast, "can we stop at Takodana?"

Luke looked up from his plate. "The planet Takodana? Maz Kanata's home?"

Rey nodded. "I left my blaster there, and I'd like it back. I confronted Ky—my brother Ben in the forest just outside her castle, but he…used telepathic intrusion on me, and I fainted. I left the blaster in the forest."

"We can always find you a new blaster, Breha."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke softly. "My father gave it to me when we arrived at Maz's castle. It was a gift. It's the only thing he ever gave me." She gave her uncle a crooked smile. "He showed me how to aim it, how to take off the safety, how to holster it before entering a building full of pirates, and to not carelessly point it at him…." She trailed off. "It was a gift." Her eyes were pleading.

 _She's such a darling,_ Luke thought. _And I can resist her wishes just as about as well as I ever could resist her mother._ "Of course, we'll make a stop. If it's not in the forest, I'm sure Maz will have it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The little silver blaster was right where she'd thought it would be, on the moss-covered forest floor between lightsaber-damaged trees. Rey flipped the safety back on and inspected it for damage; it looked all right. She did notice, for the first time, small markings engraved in the black grip of the weapon. 'HS,' it read. And below that: 'HRHLO.' Not knowing what that meant, Rey shrugged, and tucked the blaster into the holster at her thigh. The soft nerf-leather holster had been another gift, this one from Leia, after Rey had told her she liked the look on Han Solo.

Rey smiled with relief at Luke.

"Better now?" Luke asked her. She nodded. "Good. Why don't we go say hi to Maz? I'd like to ask her about my saber." He paused, considering. "Or…maybe I'm too conspicuous. What do you think?"

Rey regarded him. "It'd be hard for anyone to miss a Jedi in the castle. You do rather…stick out." Chewbacca nodded and barked his agreement.

"Okay," he resolved. "I'll go back to the ship with Chewie; you go in and ask Maz to come out to us, if she's free."

The Wookie did not like that plan at all, and neither of the humans wanted to argue with two meters of fur. He accompanied her into the castle.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Rey!" Maz Kanata bellowed across the crowded hall.

 _Just like the last time we were here,_ Rey thought. So she answered with a small wave, like a slightly sheepish Solo: "Hey, Maz." The band, which had momentarily paused, went back to its mellow tune.

Chewie growled a friendly greeting as she approached. She smiled affectionately up at him. "How are you, boyfriend?"

He shrugged. It would take him a long time before he would be all right again.

Maz's face turned serious. "I heard what happened to Han. I'm so sorry. He was a good man. The best sort of man."

Neither Rey nor Chewbacca had anything to say to that. Instead, Rey whispered to the diminutive pirate, "Master Skywalker is here. On the _Falcon_. He'd like you to come out and see him."

Wordlessly, Maz followed them out to the lakefront hanger.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was Maz Kanata's turn to tell a story. "Taybin Ralorsa," Maz explained, "is a great musician. She sings beautifully, plays the xyloxan, hypolliope horns and any kind of flute you've got. She has worked her way around several fashionable worlds and has amassed quite a good reputation. Years ago, she had employment in one of the casinos on Cloud City above the Bespin system. She also had a boyfriend there, some sort of gambler type. In a game of sabaac, this man had won the lightsaber from another Cloud City resident, a maintenance man with a gambling habit, who had found the saber in an exhaust shaft at the bottom of the city. He didn't know what he had found, or its worth, but he bet the lightsaber in the sabaac game and lost it to Taybin's boyfriend.

"The boyfriend died of some sort of flu that made its way around Cloud City. Taybin kept the lightsaber—as a memento of him, I suppose—and brought it with her when she came here four years ago. With the First Order moving deeper into Republic space, she thought Takodana might be a nice refuge. Well, you know my policy, Luke. I'll give room and board to anyone for a day, and longer than that if they can entertain me in some way. Taybin offered me the lightsaber in exchange for a job here. She's still got the job, and I still had the lightsaber…until Rey showed up."

Maz paused, and looked meaningfully at Luke, eyes widened. "Powerful girl, that Rey is."

Luke nodded. "That she is. I've been training her for the last few months." He glanced at his niece, who bent her head modestly.

"Lots of choices in your future," Maz told Rey. "Big truths to be told, big decisions for you to make." She looked again at Luke: _Have you told her?_

Chewie barked an affirmative, and Luke dipped his chin in acknowledgment. "We're going back to D'Qar now. Rey wants to join her mother's fight."

Maz smiled. "Good! It's more than a fight now, little one. The Republic has declared war on those barbarians. But with the three of you there to help Leia, I'd place odds on your side coming out on top again."

"Maz," Rey said suddenly. "Before we go, could you help me with something? I've got a blaster from Han, and it has some letters I don't understand. Perhaps you know what they mean?" She unholstered the gun to show her hostess.

She studied the markings. "Oh," she said with a smile. "It's an old pirate tradition. If you fire a weapon, you mark it with your initials. HS, Han Solo. I don't know the other name; any ideas, Chewie? Luke?"

She passed the blaster to the Wookiee, who shook his head. Luke, leaning over Chewbacca, thought for a moment and then grinned. "It's a joke. Your father used to tease your mother all the time about being a royal. Your Majesty, Your Highnessness, Your Worship, Your Majestic Worshipfullness…." Luke laughed, remembering. "He was merciless with his nicknames for her early on in their relationship. Anyway, she must've used this blaster then, because he added her initials. Her Royal Highness, Leia Organa."


	7. Family Photos

The trip from Takodana to D'Qar was only a few hours long. As soon as Rey and Chewbacca had eased the _Falcon_ into hyperspace, the Wookiee unstrapped his harness and headed to the lounge. After a few moments of rummaging around, he found what he was looking for, and called out for Rey and Luke to join him.

Chewie lifted a meter-long box onto the Dejarik game table. As he raised the box's lid, Rey thought, _I hope it's not another lightsaber. I really don't need another vision like before._

"What is it?" she asked, moving around the table to get a better look. Luke followed. It was a collection of pictures; some were flat squares of flimsi, while others looked like little clear cubes with a three-dimensional image moving within. Rey sat down on the soft bench, and began to sift through the pile, very gently, so as not to damage anything.

Chewbacca explained, "Some of these used to hang on the ship's walls. Others, Han kept in his quarters. After…after you were lost, Cub, we left Hosnian Prime. Han eventually took the pictures off the walls and locked them up in this box. It was painful to look at, although I know from time to time he did open the box up. I caught him once. But for the most part, the box stayed in one of the smuggler compartments, even after our ship was stolen. Ducain and the others never found it, I guess.

"Maybe the images will help you remember?"

Rey smiled broadly at him. "I'm sure they will. These are priceless gifts, Chewie. Thank you."

Luke stood and turned to leave. "Well. Take your time with them, Rey."

"Don't you want to look through them with me, Master?"

Luke smiled gently. "I've seen them. Just go at your own pace. Get to know your family." He retreated to the cockpit to meditate, or maybe just to cry. Even those brief glimpses of Han and Leia…and the boys…and himself, young and carefree…gave him pangs of grief as fresh and raw as they had ever been. Sorrow washed over him like a wave, crushing and brutal. Rey could sense his agony, he knew she could. She let him go without a word. Chewbacca left the lounge as well, heading aft.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 _All right,_ Rey thought. _Let's just take these one at a time._

The first flimsi, right on top of the pile, was of her mother. She was leaning against a tree, facing right, ignoring the camera, with a wistful, far-off look on her face. Her hair was long and loose except for a small braid that wrapped around her head and hung down the side of her face. The afternoon sunlight was adding blond highlights to her brown hair. _Luke's right. I do look like my mother. Or I would, if my hair were that long._ If Rey squinted and used her imagination, it looked like an image of her. _How old is she here? Twenty-five? Her skin is unwrinkled by worry or time or sun._

 _She's so beautiful._

Moving back to her precious box, Rey took out a holocube that drew her attention. It was taken in the _Falcon's_ cockpit. A skinny little girl on Han's lap, sitting ramrod straight in the captain's chair, grinning proudly at the camera. Rey touched a button on the side of the cube, and the image moved. The girl's nose wrinkled as her grin widened, showing her little baby teeth. The girl glanced over her shoulder to look up at her father, who was saying something to her. He winked. She giggled. Then the video repeated.

On the back of the cube was a handwritten caption. "Breha's first flight," Rey murmured aloud. _I was three. Luke said my father took me flying when I was three._ She wanted to cry. That little girl was so different than Rey. Brimming with confidence, chin up, absolutely secure in her own abilities and her father's obvious love for her. _Perhaps that confidence is how I survived my abduction,_ she reflected. _Do I still have that? Can I be that girl again?_

The next holo, a little smaller, was a close-up of two boys lying on their backs in a field of manicured green grass. They were grinning up at the camera above them. The caption: _Ben, 9, and Ani, 4._ A fluffy little black and white Pittin was lying contentedly on Ben's chest, and he had one arm wrapped protectively around the feline. Anakin was leaning his head against his big brother's shoulder. The younger child looked familiar to Rey, and she realized he was the blue-eyed boy at the end of the hallway in that vision she'd had when she touched the lightsaber. She closed her eyes, but couldn't remember any more details about her brother.

More holos followed. Leia holding her toddler daughter, two identical pairs of chestnut eyes looking into the camera. The girl's hair was neatly done in two long braids that encircled her head like a crown. _I didn't know she braided my hair too._

Han and Leia on the _Falcon's_ boarding ramp, looking at each other and laughing. She looked like she was about to fall backwards, so he was holding her forearms while she grasped his waist. Rey pressed the button to make the image move; her father set his wife down on the ramp and slid his hands down to take her hands.

A thin flimsi—this one without a caption—showed Rey and Anakin in costumes, dressed up…as pirates, perhaps? Ani was wearing his father's oversized black vest over a white shirt, with Han Solo's swagger and a lopsided grin on his face.

The whole family sitting on sand, a bit like Jakku sand but softer-looking, at the edge of an ocean. "Gold Beaches, Corellia" read the caption. Luke—was _that_ Master Luke? Tanned, beardless, sun-highlighted hair, smiling broadly, with an arm around a squirming Anakin. Ben, a teenager, looking sulky, dark hair in his face. Han and Leia sitting close, leaning back on their elbows, fingers touching. Chewbacca, the wind whipping through his sand-filled fur. And little Rey, snuggled up with Chewie, her thin frame dwarfed by his.

 _Oh, here's a heartbreaking one._ Her handsome father sat in an armchair while Ben, maybe five or six, stood behind him with his arms wrapped affectionately around Han, leaning his cheek on his father's broad shoulder. When the holo moved, Han turned, smiled, and scooped Ben into his lap.

At the bottom of the box were a few more flimsis: a pile of letters, which Rey didn't think she should read, and one old photograph of her mother lying on a bed, which Rey definitely didn't think she should see. They went straight back into the container, with the holos carefully placed on top.

Luke came out of the cockpit while Rey was re-packing. "Do you remember any of that?" he asked her.

"Well, I remember this day," she answered, showing him the image of her 'first flight.' "His trousers with the stripe, the smell of his soap, sitting on his lap. I think I spent a lot of time sitting on his lap in the cockpit."

Luke grinned. "Yeah, you were a good little pilot. Sometimes Han would just lean back, drink a mug of caf and let you fly the ship. Or Anakin; he was just as talented as you."

"Well," she decided, "I'll hang this holo up in the cockpit. It'll be…you know, comforting…to have my father watching over me. If you don't think Chewie will mind."

"Why would he mind?"

"If you don't think it would make him sad to see," Rey clarified.

Luke looked at the picture, evaluating. It didn't hurt too much. "Probably not. Ask him."

"Why did my father carry this one around?" She showed her uncle the flimsi of her and Anakin playing dress-up. That one _did_ hurt Luke. She felt a stab of pain radiating out of him.

"That…Chewie took that on…." Luke broke off, inhaled, began again. "That was the day of the abduction. The last image we had of you two. Ani was still wearing that vest when…when I got to the apartment."

"Did you keep the vest?"

Luke eyed her. "Strange question. No. It was soaked in blood."

The navicomputer began beeping cheerfully. Chewbacca came back into the lounge to inform them of their impending arrival on D'Qar. Time to see Leia.


	8. Return of the (Three) Jedi

She was dreaming of Han.

Not any specific memory of Han; like many of her dreams, this one was vague, just the two of them in an apartment—Coruscant, Alderaan, Hosnian Prime?—puttering about, doing everyday things. But together. He was always in frame, tugging at the periphery of every one of her memories.

In tonight's dream, she went to a coat closet and returned with a dark blue hooded anorak. "It's cold there. You'll need this." It comforted her to dress him warmly. "If you're really leaving," she added.

Han nodded, then smiled at her, his usual confident smile. "Will you miss me?"

"You know the answer to that."

"That's why I leave," he said smugly, affectionately. "So that you miss me."

She tilted her head and gazed at him. She needed to ask him something very, very important. Before she could speak, though, he said abruptly, "I think the _Falcon_ 's coming back."

Leia's eyes opened. She stared dully at the clock by her bed: dawn. Earlier than she needed to awaken, but she never slept very much nowadays. She had become accustomed to walking around the base before officially checking in for the day, inspecting the buildings and people to make sure everything was as it should be, taking in the rich scents and colors of the D'Qar jungle. It helped clear her head. A little.

She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes again for a moment. _Stupid dream,_ Leia thought. _What was I going to ask him?_ The dream had ended just before she reached the really important part…just like their relationship had ended.

"There's something I've been wanting to say to you for a long time," Han had told her before leaving for Starkiller Base. She had _stopped him._ Stopped him before he could tell her…what? That he loved her? That he was sorry for the separation of the last decade? She sighed. Just one more thing she regretted, in a long, long list of things she regretted.

Leia stretched her toes and sat up wearily in her cold bed. She was worn out. Too tired, even, to be angry anymore. She used to feel angry all the time—angry at Vader, at Tarkin, at Palpatine, at her colleagues in the Senate, at fate. Anger fueled her, though not the way it fueled Vader. Like an alchemist of emotions, she could convert fury into passion—passion for the Rebellion, passion for engagement. Or for Han. _Plenty of passion for him,_ she mused.

But her anger had most often translated into a need to fight injustice. And it worked. It _had_ worked. It wasn't really working for Leia anymore, though. Now she was merely sleepwalking through life, waiting for one child to come to his senses, for another child to come home.

She was just…waiting. No spark. No longer that brave girl who had grabbed Luke's blaster and taken charge of the situation on the Death Star. She felt like a shell of her former self. Reacting, no longer acting.

For her first nineteen years, Leia had felt the emotional support of her parents. Her entire homeworld had praised her, encouraged her, and cocooned her. Then she lost them all. Yet within a few years of that cataclysm, she had gained a new family in the form of her brother, her husband and children. That was _her_ Alliance. Her new homeworld. Their absolute love for each other bound them together with warm cords that gave her strength, courage, contentment. Until she lost them all. For the second time in her life.

Leia felt dislocated. Homeless. Rootless.

Even in her weariness, though, something tugged at the back of her mind. A warm, familiar presence was reaching out to her.

 _Leia? Leia?_

 _Don't give up. We're coming._

Leia sprang to her feet. There were only three people left in this galaxy that could energize her, and two of them were on a ship, flying towards her.

* * *

The _Millennium Falcon_ lowered slowly onto the rich earth of D'Qar. Years of practice told Leia exactly where to stand. She placed her hand over the boarding ramp's control. One year after they'd met, Han had decided to give Leia handprint access to his beloved ship; he had held his warm hand over hers and pressed it to the control panel until it had mapped her. She'd trembled at his touch.

She still remembered that first touch, as the ship still remembered her. The ramp lowered obediently. _Hello,_ it whispered at her. _Nice to see you again._

Leia took in the familiar sight and smell of the _Falcon_ while sprinting down the main corridor, directly into the arms of her brother. She buried her face on his shoulder and wrapped herself in his warmth.

"Oh, Leia," he murmured gratefully, just as he had once said above Cloud City. "Hi."

She laughed, her face still pressed into his robe. After seven years, that's all it took? "Hi there," she replied simply.

The twins didn't really need to communicate aloud. Now that Luke was in front of her, his Force presence enveloped her. She felt his unwavering love for her, his relief at seeing her safe, his bottomless sorrow for Han, his still-painful guilt at losing control over Ben. She hugged him fiercely. "It doesn't matter," she managed to say. "Nothing matters. I'm just glad you're here."

 _I need you here,_ she begged silently. _Don't ever leave like that again. Don't leave me again. Please don't leave me._

"I won't," Luke whispered hoarsely.

Sagging in relief while willing herself not to burst into tears in public, Leia stepped back and looked her brother up and down. His face had aged more than it should have, worry-lines etched around his eyes. But his eyes still sparkled like bright Alderaanian turquoise. He smiled at her. "Guess what I brought you?" he said teasingly.

"What?" she breathed, still staring at him.

Luke gestured to his left. Leia followed his eyes to the young woman standing patiently on the side, waiting her turn. She was grinning, but when Leia looked at her, Rey's little nose wrinkled and her beautiful smile widened even more. Her hair was wrapped around her head in twin braids, making her look breathtakingly like Leia at the same age…if she'd ever had a reason to smile that broadly at nineteen.

Leia held her arms out in welcome, and Rey launched herself at her like a vornskr. They clung to each other.

"Hullo, mother," Breha whispered sweetly. "I missed you. I've missed you very much." She paused, looked at her tearful mother, then continued with more confidence. "I'm back now. And I won't leave you again."

And with that, Leia Organa was back.

Alive. Ready to fight. Rooted.

 _ **Finis**_

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading!**

 **I tried to end with a nice American happy ending, despite all the sadness the Solo/Skywalker family has endured. Particularly Leia; I love her, but I think Carrie Fisher is right when she says Leia these days is probably feeling "defeated, tired and pissed." So I tried to lift her spirits a little. There's only so much heartbreak a person can take.**

 **But now Luke's back, with a trained Rey in tow, and the family is now ready to take on the bad guys…and get Black Sheep Ben back into the fold. There's a German word which fits the family now but doesn't translate well:** _ **kampfbereit.**_ **Ready for battle, ready for a struggle, ready to roll up your sleeves and go at it. Han had lost that quality-giving up on Leia and on the Republic-but he regained it by the end of TFA, and I hope Luke & Leia do too.**

 **A few of you have asked if my character of Anakin Solo is the same as in the EU. No, he's not, though I thought the name was appropriate. I added a middle brother for three reasons:**

 **1\. Someone had to mispronounce Breha as Rey, and Ben was too old (he's 9 years her senior).**

 **2\. Nine years is a long time to go between children. Why wouldn't they have had more?**

 **3\. Han and Leia had a solid, I-love-you-more-than-life relationship. It took a hell of a lot to break them up, and the TFA explanation rang hollow for me. You don't separate because your son "has (some) Vader in him." But the death of a child, combined with the kidnapping and disappearance of another child—THAT would wreck them. According to the TFA novel, Han had never seen Ben as an adult. He left** _ **before**_ **Ben fell to the dark side. Rey's abduction must've been the impetus.**


End file.
